A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

President's Coalition Update Newsletters

Update and Information

September 17, 1997

A MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR

The Back to School season is in full swing. What a perfect time for you to encourage your members and employees to pick up the phone and call their local literacy programs to volunteer to help a child become a proficient and independent reader. Spirits and expectations are always high as a new school year begins. What better time to send a message to your associates that their efforts will help children in their communities prepare for success in the 21st century.
I'm happy to tell you that membership in the Coalition continues to grow. And I'm also happy to introduce Billie Rollins, our new Coordinator for the President's Coalition for the America Reads Challenge. Billie joined us at the beginning of September and is available to answer any questions you might have. She'd also love to hear from you about how your commitments are developing so we can share your good work in future America Reads Updates. You can contact Billie at 202-401-3069, or e-mail her at America_Reads_Challenge@ed.gov for recruitment materials, or if you'd like to give her the name of an organization you think might be interested in joining the Coalition.
Of course, I encourage you to recruit new Coalition members on your own. There's nothing better than an invitation from a colleague to motivate participation in a cause in which one believes.

A WARM WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS

San Antonio Independent School District - Parent and Community Partnership Network
Santa Clara County Library Reading Program
The Library of America
Victoria Tutorial Program - Austin Public Library

JOIN US AT "IMPROVING AMERICA'S SCHOOLS" CONFERENCES

Carol Rasco and the Secretary's Regional Representatives will host information and update briefings for the President's Coalition members, their regional members, and potential new members during the three "Improving America's Schools" conferences which will be held on the following dates in these locations:

October 16 - 18 -- San Diego
November 16 - 18 -- Dallas, TX
December 12-14 -- Washington, DC
This special meeting time will be dedicated to updating you on the America Reads Challenge, and hearing from fellow Coalition members who will share how they're following through on their commitments. A general letter of invitation is attached along with a registration form for the San Diego Conference only. Please share this information and the contents of the letter with your regional members and any potential members you think might be interested in learning more about the President's Coalition and the America Reads Challenge, and encourage them to join us.

UPDATE ON AMERICA READS CHALLENGE LEGISLATION

The America Reads Challenge Act continues to be pending in Congress. As noted in the last newsletter, America Reads has been fully funded at $260 million in both the House and Senate Committee versions of the appropriation bills. The funding, however, would not be available until Fiscal Year 1999, and would be dependent upon authorization of the America Reads Challenge Act, or a piece of legislation consistent with the goals and concepts of America Reads, by April 1, 1998.
The Senate voted on the appropriations bill last week which included this funding. However, their bill also included an amendment which would take appropriations funding for many programs that serve K-12 students and establish a block grant. This funding would be allocated to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) who would determine how it would be used. If this amendment is accepted in the final Labor-Health and Human Services-Education Appropriations bill, America Reads would not receive separate funding for its programs.
The House will continue to consider their version of the Labor-Health and Human Services-Education Appropriations bill this week. The House version does not have a Block Grant amendment pending.
The Majority on the House Education and Workforce Committee is still expected to introduce a legislative alternative to the America Reads Challenge Act, but to date it has not been introduced.

FEDERAL WORK-STUDY MEETING THE CHALLENGE

Good news abounds from many of our 736 colleges and universities signed up to support the America Reads Challenge through the Federal Work-Study program. We highlight two here...
At the summer Read*Write*Now! pilot site in Baltimore, 26 University of Maryland-Baltimore Campus graduate students worked full time - 40 hours each week - participating as tutors in the Super Summer Camp, a program that served 450 children. What makes their participation unique is that they are all graduate students in the health sciences -- medicine, dentistry and social work -- and often find it difficult to participate in these type programs because of the internship demands required of their professions. The student tutors were able to condense their financial aid commitment into an 8 week period to work with children from 20 schools, all located in high poverty areas. Tutors spent one hour each morning working on intensive reading plus an additional 30 minutes in the afternoon in the "love of reading" session during which the Read*Write*Now! Activity Guide was used.
Another exciting program this fall is taking place through a partnership between Miami-Dade Community College, three other colleges and universities, and the Dade County Public Schools. A total of 205 students from Miami-Dade CC, Florida International University, University of Miami, and Barry University have completed tutor training, and are working this fall in 34 schools and 6 after school programs across the county. The tutoring manual -- America Reads/Miami Reads Tutoring Guide -- was produced by the Dade County Public Schools and is a terrific resource. Copies are available by contacting Bob Exley, Assistant to the District President, at (305) 237-7027.
Your community can benefit from partnerships like the two showcased above. Visit our web site to see if the colleges and universities in your community are signed on to the America Reads Challenge. If not, recruit them! A form is posted here for you to use.

COALITION MEMBERS MEETING THE CHALLENGE

A look at how some members are creating partnerships to help families and communities meet the goal of the America Reads Challenge...
The American Booksellers Association has partnered with Scholastic, Inc. and the Association of Booksellers for Children to distribute some 100,000 free copies of Rosemary Wells' new book Read to Your Bunny. The project is designed to encourage parents to read to their very young children. Participating bookstores will distribute the books to parents and guardians of young children as part of the Prescription for Reading Partnership, in response to President Clinton's America Reads Challenge. Read to Your Bunny is a picture book that demonstrates the simple message that reading to a child is an important part of daily activities. The promotion runs from November 1997 through March 1998.
Scholastic, Inc. has also partnered with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs (OBEMLA) to produce a poster encouraging parental and community involvement in children's education. Posters have been mailed to all classrooms that subscribe to Scholastic magazine and all Bilingual Education grantees. A limited supply is available through the National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education, 1-800-321-NCBE.
Phi Theta Kappa, the International Honor Society of Two-Year Colleges (1,100 campuses and 145,000 honor students), has committed to a two year service focus on America Reads starting with their annual meeting in the spring of 1998. They will provide members with printed materials that include background information on the America Reads Challenge, a list of terrific ideas for implementing programs at the chapter level, a Q&A sheet about why the Challenge is needed, and a resource list of national organizations and programs.

SHARE YOUR COMMITMENTS AND SUCCESS STORIES

Let us know how your organization is meeting the America Reads Challenge. Mail, fax or e-mail your information, or any suggestions you might have about we can support your efforts, to:

Billie Rollins
Coordinator for the President's Coalition for the America Reads Challenge
600 Independence Ave., SW, Room 6123
Washington, DC 20202
Fax 202-401-0596
e-mail via Internet to America.Reads.Challenge@ed.gov

REMEMBER...

You'll find up-to-date information plus tutoring materials on the U.S. Dept. of Education's web site at http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/resources.html including READ*WRITE*NOW!, READY*SET*READ, JUST ADD KIDS, the PARTNERS TUTORING PROGRAM GUIDE, and two publications in Spanish, ACTIVIDADES PARA DIVERTIRSE LEYENDO Y ESCRIBIENDO for children age birth through grade 6, and JUGANDO CON PAPEL for children 5 and under, or call 1-800-USA-LEARN for free copies.

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